


Hurt (Arkham Knight x Reader)

by CrazyNightmare



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games), Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis (Comics)
Genre: Arkham Knight x Reader - Freeform, Batman: Arkham Knight Spoilers, F/M, jason todd x reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-08-03 07:44:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 19,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16322054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyNightmare/pseuds/CrazyNightmare
Summary: Y/n was Jason Todd's best friend.  Until he died that is.  After coping for five years, a new villain comes to Gotham.  But who is he exactly?





	1. He's Dead?

I walk down one of Gotham's many alleys as I shiver from the cold. It started snowing shortly before I left the bank. The cold was biting at my fingertips, so I put them in my (f/c) coat pockets. While they were cold as well, it was still a little coverage. But the cold wasn't bothering me that much as I was worried for my best friend, Jason.

Jason went missing almost a year ago now. For all we know he left us. I still had that sliver of hope though that he would come back. He would open the door to the manor and he'd hug us all saying he was fine, and that something happened, and he had to stay under cover for a little while.

Seems like a far reach, huh? Bruce had kept on searching for him. Dick had given up a few months ago now. He was certain that Jason was gone. He wouldn't say the word in front of me, I'm guessing because he knows I would freak out on him for even suggesting it. But I knew exactly what word he meant that would describe what he thought happened to Jason. Dick thought that Jason was dead.

When I reach the mansion again, I hear fighting. Not surprising at all, really. It was a normal evening for them in fact. Two or three months after Jason went missing, Bruce decided to fill in his spot with a guy named Tim. Dick had replaced Robin for those few months Jason was gone, but after a while he could not keep on going since he had other work to do as Nightwing.

When I walk through the dark oak doors leading to the Sitting Room in the Mansion, I see no one sitting. Instead, the Dark Knight is throwing batarangs at Robin. Robin is doing backflips and grabbing a few of the batarangs when possible. "Keep your position neat and straight, Robin!" Batman yells at him.

Robin stays silent as he straightens up and uses a grapple to bring down Batman. Bruce quickly jumps out of the strong rope and punches Robin in the jaw. Tim quickly recovers and swiftly round house kicks Batman. Alfred then walks into the room and calls off the fight.

"Master Wayne, a recording has been sent to us through an anonymous server. They say it's extremely important that you see it as soon as possible." Alfred states.

"Are you able to track down the IP address?" Bruce says removing his cowl.

"I'm afraid not sir. But the recording is sent to the batcomputer in the cave." Alfred responds.

"Alright. (Y/n) I need you after we see this recording. Come down with me so we can both watch the video." Bruce tells me.

"Yes, sir." While I'm close with him, since he has basically adopted me, I treat him with respect because he can be a scary man when he wants to be. One-time Dick had given him attitude, and Bruce took him into another room for an hour. For the rest of the week, Dick flinched whenever he heard Bruce call his name. While it was funny, I was curious as to what he could've said to Dick to make him so afraid.

When we get down to the cave, the batcomputer has loaded the recording up, ready to be watched. Bruce glances at Tim, Dick, and I with caution and starts the recording. The first thing we see is Jason tied up to a chair, bloodied up with a 'J' burnt into his skin on his left cheek. "Have you got something to tell the nice man, Jason?" I identify the voice as Joker immediately.

"My name is Jason Todd." He says slowly, his voice laced with exhaustion and pain. It hurt to hear him like this.

"Who do you hate my boy?" Joker asks, laughter ready to spill.

"Batman."

"Excellent. Of course, you do!"

After some silence Joker comes into view and states, "Did you hear that, Bats? Kid's not yours anymore. He's mine. Mine, mine, mine. To do with as I wish. Hey I never asked. What's the big secret? Who is the big, bad bat?" He says and moves closer to Jason.

"Of course, sir, its-" Before he could respond, Joker shot him, and he went down.

A scream was frozen in my throat. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Jason Todd, my best friend, was just shot by Joker.

"Never could stand a tattletale. That's why I like to work alone. No one to spoil the punch line. You should try it sometime. After all, you've seen what happens when you drag your friends into this crazy little game of ours. Working alone is really only a problem when you need an extra set of hands. Let's see if we can't solve that little conundrum!" Joker laughs insanely and ends the tape.

I crash down onto the floor and put my face into my hands. I felt a hand reach down onto my back. I wanted to cry. So badly. But no tears came. "He's....Dead?"


	2. They Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with Jason's death has taken a toll on you.

"(Y/n) .... you must get up. You can't stay in bed forever." I hear Dick say through the door, muffled.

I don't respond. It's been one week since he died. I can hardly take it. When he died, I was in a meltdown. I didn't move from the position I was in for hours. After that I didn't eat. I didn't drink. I guess all the crying I did had just completely ruined my appetite. Bruce and Dick would sometimes unlock the door and watch me eat at least a full meal a day. Sometimes it was Alfred.

Dick started drifting away from us. He made up even more excuses than usual to leave the mansion and get away from the reporters. It hurt to watch him do that, but I couldn't say anything. After all, at least he could get out of his room. I was still stuck in here, in denial that my best friend of so many years could have possible died right before my eyes.

I kept muttering, "He can't be.... He can't be dead.." I was making up excuses. Ways that he could've lived. That the recording was fake. He was wandering somewhere, and he'd come back. He somehow tricked Joker into believing all of it. But I knew that the chances are he didn't do that. It seemed like Joker had played him like a violin.

"That's it..." Dick muttered. He opened the door and I knew he could tell I was mess. I looked like a bird's nest with tears. He ushered me up from the (2f/c) (2nd favorite color) bed and pushed me onto a chair in front of the desk.

He picked out a (f/c) sweater and dark blue jeans. He laid them onto the bed and then stated, "Get up. Go get some underwear because I refuse to touch that. The two of us are going out into the city for a bit. You need the fresh air. You're wasting away up here, Y/N."

After an hour I was completely ready. It only took five minutes to get dressed, but to untangle my hair was another story. It was so knotty and messed up from a week of tossing and turning in bed. I was almost worried I'd have to cut out some of the knots.

I walked down the stairs and out the door to see Dick leaning against the red Mustang. "What, we aren't taking the Lambo?"

"Not today. But maybe another day." Dick winks at me. I grin for the first time in a long time, it almost felt strange, and got into the passenger seat.

Twenty minutes of traffic later, we are at the ice cream store! After picking out chocolate sundaes we ate inside, looking out the window, to the high skyscrapers of Gotham. "So, this was your genius plan of getting me out of the house?" I ask taking a bite of the creamy chocolate.

"It worked, didn't it?" He said eating while talking.

"Oh, Dick. Don't eat while talking. It's disgusting. You know I hate it."

"Yes, I know quite well. That's why I'm doing it." He smirks, and I groan loudly.

After a whole day of shopping, we had finally gone to the mansion. I placed all five bags of clothes down and sat on one of the soft red couches. After all the walking around, I needed it more than anything.

Not even five minutes later, it's like Alfred knew I was exhausted, and gave me a warm blanket and a cold glass of water. "Thanks Alfred." I smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Master/Miss (l/n)."

"You know you don't have to call me that."

"Nonsense. But get some rest. I know you haven't been doing much this past week. But things will get better. You know that."

"I know. But it's still nice to have the comfort of knowing someone feels the same way."

"Perhaps Master Bruce would be a great person to talk to."

"Alright. I'll go talk to him now."

"Thank you Master/Miss (l/n)."

I walk down the steps leading to the Bat Cave. Inside, it's mostly black and blue. All around there are platforms leading to the Batmobile, Bat computer, and of course, the bat wing. Pretty creative names, huh?

When I go down to the Bat Computer, I see Barbara sitting down in her wheelchair, typing away, looking up what looks to be Killer Croc. Bruce comes down and I glance at him. "Well look who's finally risen from the dead."

"Can we talk alone?" I ask.

His joking manner turns serious. "Of course. Follow me." He turns to a darker part of the cave. "Now what is it?"

And I tell him about how I felt. No not like that crappy stuff. I told him how I never had an appetite, how I had basically just shut everything down. I didn't want to do anything. I couldn't do anything. I told him about all my thoughts while I stayed in my room. Because of Jason's death, it felt like I died too.

"I swear (y/n) things will get better."

"What if they don't?"

"They will."


	3. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some time has passed since his death, so how is the Batfamily holding up? (Wow, kudos?! Awesome! Thank you so much!)

A few months later

Everything is nearly back to normal for Gotham city. The typical, Scarecrow has developed his fear toxin and is going around killing people again. However, there is one thing that has not gotten back to normal. The Wayne family.

To the public, Bruce hasn't changed a single bit. It makes sense. Why would he change? Bruce knew of a man named Jason Todd, and helped him, however why would it phase him so greatly if he were to disappear? The media barely even knew who Jason Todd was. Thankfully they had decided that this story would not be big enough to try and get into the mainstream. Vicky Vale tried to do it, but after a single day you didn't hear anything else about him.

I was grateful that it happened. If I had to hear about Jason every day on the news I'm positive I would've gone nuts. If there is one thing news channels are good at, it's annoying people that are involved in the articles. They would not let go of it and at the end of the day you have to be thankful that you didn't punch one of the reporters in the face. They should be thankful too, considering how much power is in my punch.

But, for now, the Wayne family is as its usual, smiling for the cameras as Bruce goes to discuss business matters, which usually contains him buying a bank or something drastic like that. 

Dick seems to be fine after everything. I've managed to go out and do things like nothing ever happened. Still, at night when I'm trying to sleep all I can think about is the video of when Jason was shot. But those nights are starting to drift off. Sometimes I can go the entire night without thinking about it, usually because I wore myself out fighting alongside Batman.

Tonight, I had gone the entire night without thinking about him. However, it makes sense why. It seemed to be a normal night, Joker being placed back into Arkham Asylum, until he somehow killed dozens of guards while taking over the island. I wasn't there to see it, but I had to help out Barbara. 

Barbara would've gone to the island if she could, I know that much, but since she was another one of Joker's victims, she had to stay in her wheelchair while figuring out the toxin he was using. Dick had gone out to the city to make sure everything else stayed in order while I stayed at home to help Barb out. Not only did I want to stay with her so she had some company, but I could also help her out in finding the key components of the toxin.

It was one long night, but in the end Batman had Joker contained. The TITAN formula was such an intricate toxin, it took Barbara and I hours to figure out its cure. In the meantime, Joker had killed so many guards by using the formula on them, and I felt terrible for them. But everything took a turn when Joker used the formula on both him and Batman. 

Bruce only had enough of the cure to get the toxin out of one of them. I knew who he would pick, but it was still dangerous. Joker was not only insane, which made him fearless of anything, but now he was also stronger than Bane ever was. When the fight was taken to the rooftop, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried for Bruce. 

But what really annoyed me about that entire scene was the reporters in the helicopters. Since Barb and I couldn't do anything about the fight, I hacked into a few of their signals and I knocked it out. Later on I laughed at seeing their frantic faces. Barbara laughed at it while it was going on because she wasn't as worried about Bruce.

It was relief when he got home around 5 in the morning, and after that, everyone slept in until about noon. Actually, everyone probably would've slept in later if it wasn't for Alfred trying to make sure that we didn't make it a regular thing to sleep in so late. I was half tempted to throw a pillow at him when he came in my room to wake me up. 

When we all got to the kitchen, Bruce was covered in medical wraps and pads. He had a few cuts on his face, but that was all. Through all that had happened last night, that actually was not bad for him. And that brings us to where we are now.

"So, Bruce, you seem a little banged up there." Barb joked. 

"Well, it was a long night after all." He said with a hint of a smile. 

Before we know it, all four of us start laughing like mad men. It felt good to laugh. I haven't done it in months after all. It felt foreign almost, like I had never laughed before.

It felt like we were a family. Just doing what any other family would do, eat together, talk, laugh, and just live. 

But we weren't just a regular family. Bruce was a billionaire playboy, who took us in when we all needed it. Sure, we were completely messed up, and there was probably no chance that we'll ever be a regular family. However, this is all we need. It's all we got. Right now, everything seems okay.


	4. Alfred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred helps the reader out.

1 year later

All of us were fighting. For probably the eighth time today. I was stressed out today and Dick and Tim were not helping it. I couldn't take it anymore. The stress was way too much. It seemed like it all was happening at once. Killer Croc was on the loose, Joker was gassing people with "Laughing Gas" and we still had these family problems.

Yep. Even two years later, we were still going downhill from his death. I've healed since the incident, but it's affected all our minds. Dick started blaming Batman for Jason's death. And I had to agree with him. But that was when my mind was all foggy, and I wasn't doing anything. However, Batman couldn't have saved him no matter what he did. If Bruce found Jason in time, Joker would have just killed him there with a remark.

But that's all we really do anymore. Fights. Lots and lots of stress and fighting. I'm sitting down right now groaning at my pounding headache. "See? Now even (y/n) is stressed out thanks to you!" Tim yelled at Bruce and Dick.

"And you yelling is helping?" Dick responded, clearly annoyed.

"Guys, enough of this!" I yelled, causing all of them to stop. "If you keep on fighting it's just going to raise my stress levels and Tim, I know you mean well, but you, yelling about it does not help."

Tim looked down to the ground when I said that. "Even after all this time has passed we're still fighting? Honestly, I thought you all were better than that." I walked out of the room and straight to the garden out in the backyard. It's the only place that seems remotely calming anymore.

It was a sunny day, and despite the cool wind blowing, I was warm. Everything looked alive out here. Wayne Manor was far enough away from the city that you couldn't hear anything. It was just pure silence, and that's what made it so nice.

I sat down on the bench that was in the garden. It was surrounded by a bunch of wildflowers that were growing. They stood up to about my hips and came in all sorts of different colors and flowers. A few bees were on the flowers, moving and switching plants every few seconds.

"Master/Mistress (L/N), what are you doing out here?" I turned to see Alfred standing there, looking concerned.

"I had to get out of the manor for a bit. The guys were fighting." I said, looking down at some of the stones that circled the wildflowers.

"Again?"

"Again. Hasn't it been long enough? Will they ever stop with this? I get it. Jason is dead. It seems like I'm the only one who is getting over that here, Alfred. All of their yelling is giving me horrible migraines every day and I don't know how much more of this I can take." I sighed. If there was one thing Alfred was good at it, it's getting me to talk. Or at least vent to him, so I could get some frustration out.

I saw out of the corner of my eye Alfred sit next to me. "I don't know if they will stop anytime soon. But, remember how you were when Master Todd first passed? It didn't really affect them until now. Give it some time. I'm sure in another few months this will all be over." I looked over to him. He smiled warmly.

"You have a point, Alfred. I hope that it all ends soon. I don't know how much more of this I can take from them." 

"If by the end of the month they have not reduced the amount of fights they are creating, I shall tell Master Wayne myself how bad all of it is." He said with a joking manner.

I laughed a little when he said that. It felt good to laugh again. "Thanks Alfred. You're the best." I said while hugging him. 

He chuckled a little and hugged me back. For the first time in a week I was happy. Alfred was always there for me, and I couldn't appreciate him more than I do right now.


	5. Count Me In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years pass and Halloween arrives with more than just a few scares.

2 years later

All of us were fighting. For probably the eighth time today. I was stressed out today and Dick and Tim were not helping it. I couldn't take it anymore. The stress was way too much. It seemed like it all was happening at once. Killer Croc was on the loose, Joker was gassing people with "Laughing Gas" and we still had these family problems.

Yep. Even two years later, we were still going downhill from his death. It's not that we talk about it anymore, it's just that someone is always bringing him up. I don't know how he gets into the conversation, but he does. There's nothing I can do, because usually all the fighting stressed me out.

But that's all we really do anymore. Fights. Lots and lots of stress and fighting. I'm sitting down right now groaning at my pounding headache. "See? Now even (y/n) is stressed out thanks to you!" Tim yelled at Bruce and Dick.

"And you yelling is helping?" Dick responded, clearly annoyed.

3 years after

Reliving that memory always horrifies me. That was the day we all had enough. I had moved out. And so, had Dick. Now I live with Barbara and her dad since they both let me in. Jim was practically my father while Barbara was a sister.

Jim was kind enough to let me in after a horrible fight two years ago. He was welcoming, and Barbara was excited to have me move in with her. Over the months, he seemed to start caring for me as he did for Barbara. It felt good to have a family again. It's been a while since that had happened.

We were getting ready for Halloween when I received a call from Dick. Even after 3 years I was keeping in touch with everyone, to make sure they were alright, and nobody had died.

I was hanging up orange Halloween lights with Barbara when Bruce called me. "What's up Bruce?" I ask.

"(Y/n), I need you to be on watch for the next week. You know how they escape around Halloween. And I have a feeling that this will be worse than usual." He tells me. Even though I separated from them, I still went by "Night". It was short and simple.

"Bruce, why do you think this may be any different from usual?"

"I'm not sure. I want to make sure Gotham stays safe and protected tonight and the following week."

"Alright. I'll keep an eye out for any suspicious activity."

"Thanks."

"Yep. Bye." I say and hang up. This may be a long Halloween. Because if Bruce is right, bad things can happen.

It's Halloween night. Barbara and I are at a Halloween party that my friend (f/n) was holding. She wanted to throw something special for all Hallow's Eve and decided on the party. Barbara had put on a Catwoman costume, and designed her wheelchair with all sorts of cat stickers.

I was dressed up as (Insert your Halloween costume). I had the entire costume put together, complete with accessories. If you're going to dress up, you may as well do it right.

But that was short lived because right as (f/n) and I were going to the dance floor, an emergency broadcast popped up onto the tv screen. It showed Scarecrow sitting in a dark room all alone. Although I couldn't hear what he said because Bruce called me. I answered almost immediately.

"What's going on, Bruce?" I ask.

"Scarecrow is loose. He's trying to take over Gotham using his fear toxin."

"Sounds dangerous. Count me in. What should I do?"

"Get to Barbara. Both of you go to the clock tower and run any research you can of Scarecrow's fear toxin and let me know if you can find any further information on anything important going around."

"Alright. We'll be there in ten minutes. But be safe Bruce."

"I will."


	6. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mischief night is only beginning for the people left in Gotham city.

As Barbara and I pull up to the clock tower, we see 5 school buses slowly leave the parking lot, filled with hundreds of Gotham's citizens. Barbara's phone rings and she picks up. "Hey, Dad. Yeah. We got out fine. We're staying at a hotel right now. Planning on getting something to eat. Okay....bye Dad." She hangs up.

I glance at her. "Did you just lie to your Dad that we were out of Gotham?"

"Perhaps...well there is a hotel nearby, and I plan on making a sandwich so, not entirely lying there."

I laugh. "A half lie is as bad as a whole."

"Okay you have me there (y/n)."

"Alright so, what is going on around Gotham besides Scarecrow trying to make everyone face their biggest fears and cower?" I ask as we log into the Bat Computer.

"Well, for starters, there is a man killing people, stripping them of their identity, and placing them somewhere with opera music. There are militia checkpoints all over the place. Also, APC tanks roaming the place, Firefly is burning the fire stations, and that's all I can find at the moment."

"What did Scarecrow do? Did he just let everyone free and give them the city?" I joke.

"Quite possibly." She says and laughs. Before we could say anything we got a call from Batman.

"Batman, what are you doing?" Barbara asks.

"We don't have just Scarecrow and the usual. There's someone new here."

Barbara starts going in to look at the cameras around Gotham. She finds what looks like a man in a suit like Batman's. He's holding a gun and shoots the camera. "Does he look like this?" She asks as she shows Bruce the video.

"Precisely. Can you figure out who he is?"

"Sure. Just give me a few minutes."

"Okay good. (y/n), I need you to help with the man killing people and leaving the opera music. If we want to get things done, I'll need you to help with the missions."

"Of course. I can start doing that now."

"Alright." Batman says and ends the call.

"See you later Barb." I say and walk out of the clock tower. I quickly put on my suit, which is a black body suit, a mask, and tools like Bruce has.

When I walk out, I see a bunch of thugs across the street, hitting a man. If Bruce has taught me anything under his wing, it's how to fight. I instantly take down one of the men and punch the next one in the jaw.

The man behind me tries to kick me and catch me off guard but I take his ankle and twist it before he has a chance. He falls down to the ground, holding his ankle, and crying like a little girl. I knock out the last man and run. I can't have too much trouble if I expect to find these bodies.

I run across the rooftops and go into detective mode. After running to Miagani Island, I finally find a body, hanging off the wall in a greenish blue hospital gown. When I try to go there, there are about 4 tanks right in front of it.

Hoping not to get caught, I quickly scan the body for any markings to identify them. After contacting Alfred the information, he states that they were missing from Arkansas. How strange. Most murder victims in Gotham have been in or nearby the city.

I go to the clock tower after Barbara says she has some new information on the new villain around Gotham. "He's called the Arkham Knight." She states to Bruce and I. "We haven't been able to find any further information on his identity, but we do know he hates Batman's guts. He also knows Batman's identity and his moves."

"Well, that tells us a lot actually." I comment.

"How?" The Dark Knight asks.

"This man has to have worked near or side by side with you to know your identity and your moves. The only way for him to have known both is by that, or he's been beaten up by you at least a thousand times."

"You have a point. (Y/n) have you found any information on the murders?"

"Yes. According to Alfred, the victims have been far from Gotham, were reported missing, and somehow show up here, with no traces of their identity except some key details in them."

"Alright. Well, I want you to stay here now with Barbara. The militia around has been increasing their security and attacks. I don't want you two to be in danger."

"But that's no fun!" I say.

"Too bad. I want you two to be safe."

"Fine."

"I'll see you guys later." He says and grapples up to the vent.


	7. Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helping Barbara in the clock tower seems like the easiest job tonight. At least, that's what most would think.

"So, what can I do to help?" I ask getting bored very quickly. It's been about an hour since Bruce left and it became pretty quiet. Kind of ironic considering everyone that is out and about on the streets. Right now there's probably about thirty different criminals in the clock tower, but they're too stupid to realize there's a code to get into the roof of it via the elevator.

"Well you could help research about Scarecrow's toxin. It's called the Cloudburst. If you can find any more information on it, that would be very helpful. I need to find more info on the Arkham Knight if we want to capture him." She says and continues to pull up public documents.

"The Arkham Knight? Never heard of him, who is he?" I ask her. Out of all of the bad guys Gotham has, I've never heard of someone who goes by the alias Arkham Knight.

"Not sure. He's new, that's all I really know. From what I can find about him, he's only been around for the past couple years. I can find a few transcripts of deals he's made with people who were once in the military, but other than that, he's hidden from the world. This is his first real attempt at taking over a place."

"Transcripts? What kind of deals was he making with these guys?"

"Apparently all sorts of machinery and parts. There's something here that hints about making tanks of some kind. Whatever he was making, he's been working on it for a while now. I'm assuming it's all to take down Bruce." Barb said, never taking her eyes off the screen.

"Unbelievable. I guess the coward is too scared to try and do it all by himself though, considering he has Scarecrow and everyone else in on this plan of his."

"Yeah, from what I can find, he has hundreds of these tanks waiting everywhere around the city. What I can't find is where they're all located."

"Well, I'm doing absolutely nothing here and I want to help. I'll get to work on that Cloudburst." I said, and I wheeled up to one of the computers to find something, anything that will help us.

When I pull up the screen, the first thing I see is Scarecrow, looking evil and menacing as usual. He's in the dark, eerily staring into the camera with two white dots for eyes. After the whole asylum incident, he was dumped into the sewer with Killer Croc, I'm surprised he was able to survive that. I shudder and start looking up the toxin "Cloudburst" into a top secret site, kind of like the government websites. Only thing is, it's for bad guys. I'm not sure how Barb found this website exactly, but what matters is what I can find on it.

The first thing to pop up is a name. Stagg. The next thing is Stagg Enterprises. When I click onto it, it shows a document on the company. It's apparently a company that has created the toxin, and is now working with Jonathan Crane, also known as, Scarecrow.

As I keep searching for more information, Barbara contacts Bruce again. He says that he's going underground at ACE Chemicals and warns us again to be careful. I don't know why he's so worried. He acts like we will be murdered tonight.

Gordon then calls me on my phone. "(Y/n), hey. Sorry I didn't call earlier after talking to Barbara."

"Hey no worries. She's your daughter after all. You want to make sure she's safe. I completely understand."

"Thanks. Everything alright? Not going out to clubs while Batman and I fight crime?"

I can't help but laugh at that statement. "Of course not. We're just relaxing. Playing around on the Internet. The whole country is freaking out over Gotham being run over by Scarecrow. We're trying to find out everything we can. We're really worried for you and Batman."

"Alright, alright.. But you guys are absolutely okay with all this?"

"Yes. Of course we are. I promise."

"I better not have a call from a different county's police saying you guys were caught with DUI or something."

"We're fine Gordon. We're staying in a hotel room for the night. I'll talk to you later. Bye." I laughed.

"Bye." I hang up and sigh. Why is everyone so worried about us? I shook my head, trying to get the thoughts out. Time to focus on something more important than that.

Finding any more information on the Cloudburst project seemed futile, whatever all of it was about, it was confidential. There was nothing on paper about this project, and they probably did it on purpose. But I give Stagg credit, trusting Crane enough to just have his word about whatever he gets in return for this is gutsy. 

Before I knew it, I heard Barbara yelp in pain. I quickly turned my head towards her to see her hunched forward in her chair. I can't focus on anything else because I feel a sharp pain go through the back of my skull. I wince, and I try to focus on something, anything that will tell me what's going on. My vision's too blurry to see anybody, but I see a silhouette of a man walk towards Barb. The pain soon becomes too much for me to handle, and I black out entirely. Just before I lost all consciousness I heard him speak.

"Time for the real fun."


	8. Ol' Memory Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce gets a flashback from the Joker when going to the clocktower to find out what happened to Barbara and Y/N.

Bruce quickly rushed to the GCPD. While approaching Crane, he found out about how Scarecrow had kidnapped both Oracle and (Y/N). He was shocked from finding out, especially since he thought that they were safe up in the clock tower. Then again, with everything that has been going on, how could he? He left two children (Despite their protest that they're adults, he still sees them as kids) alone in Gotham City while everyone from Arkham Asylum is running rampant. 

He got out of the Batmobile as soon as he made it all the way down the tunnel. There, he saw Gordon talking to one of the cops near the entrance. They were probably discussing further shut down of the city, as they wanted to block off any ways for criminals to get out of the city. He started walking towards him when suddenly he saw Joker's form leaning against the car. The clown prince just stood there, smiling at him. Even though Bruce knew he was dead, it was a surprise to see him there. 

"So Bats, how are you going to tell Gordon that his little girl and her friend have gone missing? Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face when you tell him they've been kidnapped... and it's all your fault!" Bruce ignored him as he approached Gordon. "This is going to be classic!" 

 

 

After they talked a little more, they agreed to drive over to the clock tower, Bruce assisting Gordon as there will be Cobra tanks following him. 

It was only two miles away, but in the end, Bruce had to fire several missiles to destroy the tanks that came after them. All the while, he constantly heard Joker laughing in the back of his head. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about him, but at the moment it didn't matter. What mattered was finding Barb and (Y/N).

Before he could enter the clock tower, the Arkham Knight placed several of his men around the clocktower. Bruce knew he'd have to get rid of them before he could safely go in. He turned on detective mode, ready to attack.

One of the men were already isolated from the others. Batman took this to his advantage and crawled into the vents underground. He quickly went behind him and knocked him out with a single punch. The other men were able to hear this, and quickly all five men ran over to find out what happened.

Bruce threw down a smoke pellet and was able to quickly knock the rest out, who were shooting aimlessly in the smoke. The detective mode implemented in his suit made it easy to knock them out. By the time the smoke had disappeared, Batman was gone.

He went in from the top as Gordon went in through the elevator. When he went through the vent, he noticed that the clocktower did not look the same. In fact, it looked exactly like Gordon's apartment. In the center, there was a chair, a coffee table, and a stack of books. In the chair, Barbara was reading one of the books from the pile. 

Bruce heard a door bell ring. Barbara placed her book down and stood up, walking to the door. "Colleen, is that you again?" She asked while walking across the room. She opened the door to reveal Joker.

He was wearing an outfit that made him look like he just returned from a vacation. In his right hand he held a gun, while in the left hand, a large present, the wrapping paper purple, with a green ribbon and bow. "Candy-gram!" He yelled excitedly.

Barbara ran across the room, Joker threw the present off to the side. The present spilled open to reveal a huge pile of candy. He raised the gun and took a shot at Barb. She fell onto the coffee table, breaking it. 

Barbara lied on the ground, gasping for air. "Oh, don't pass out just yet! Come on, show a little spine." Joker said darkly, walking up to her. He bent down towards her, before holding the camera that was around his neck. He took a few photos of her, before laughing. Barbara could only lie there, her face showing pure horror and shock. 

Joker took one final shot of her, before walking back and laughing. "Just wait till your father gets home. He is going to be furious about all this mess." Bruce watched Joker leave, and all you could hear was Barbara's heavy breathing. 

Batman turned towards Barbara, before looking at the door again. Instead, the door was no longer there, and all the stood as the brick wall. On it, a fluorescent red spray paint wrote words on the wall. It all read, "THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DRAG YOUR FRIENDS INTO THIS CRAZY LITTLE GAME OF OURS," before drifting off into little scribbles. 

When Bruce turned around once more, everything in the room switched back to the clock tower. Joker walked around the room. "Nothing like a trip down ol' memory lane, eh Bats?"


	9. Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remembering the good old days before everything collapsed.

Two years before the torture~

Y/N ran down the halls of Wayne Manor in search of a certain male named Jason Todd. Jason and Y/N were best friends, and like most best friends they loved to prank each other. Everyone who lived in the manor was quite aware of their antics. In fact, there was usually a new one every week. Whether it was jello in the shower or whipped cream in the face, you'd hear a cry of surprise followed by running. 

This time, Jason had pranked Y/N by setting up a bucket of slime to dump on her when she walked into her bedroom. Needless to say, she was more than pissed at him for this one. 

"You're gonna get it when I find you, Jason!" She yelled down the hall. Dick opened his door, leaned against the door frame, and shook his head as he watched a blur of (H/C) rush past him. Jason, who was calmly scrolling through the internet on his laptop, quickly shut it down to hide. 

Y/N rushed into one of the many sitting rooms in the manor. There stood Alfred, who was cleaning one of the windows. "Oh, hey Alfred!" Y/N said. 

"Hello Miss Y/N. Why are you running?" He asked calmly. He had gotten quite used to her and Jason running about the manor and wasn't surprised whenever they did. 

"Jason dumped a bucket of slime on me," she said stiffly. Alfred's back was turned towards her so he was unable to see the green goo that was slowly oozing off her head. "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"I believe he was in one of the guest rooms. He said that he was going to stay there for the rest of the day to hide from your wrath." He said with amusement in his voice. 

"Thanks Alfred!" Y/N said, before running off to try the multiple guest rooms. 

It took about four different tries, but Y/N finally made it to the guest room he was in. She could tell by the laptop that was laying on the desk. "Jason, I know you're in here, somewhere. You might as well come out now so I can kick your ass for this." 

Jason slowly walked out of his hiding spot in the bathroom, reaching the doorway before he alerted her attention. "Language." He coughed.

She turned at him with a fiery glare in her eyes. Jason ran out the door as fast as possible as Y/N followed him. He knew that one of them would tire out sooner or later, he just hoped it wouldn't be him. Only problem is that he knew she had been training a lot harder than he has lately, so the probability of her running out of stamina before him was unlikely. 

He sprinted through the hallways of Wayne Manor, grinning and laughing at the girl behind him. Little did he know that Y/N was slowly closing in on him. 

As he ran out the back door and into the gardens, he could feel her presence. This worried him even just a little bit, because he was going to be doomed. He soon felt someone tackle him into the grass in the gardens. The two of them rolled into a somersault before Y/N pinned him to the ground. She smirked, watching some of the green slime from her hair fall onto Jason's forehead. "Caught you." 

Jason faked being scared, still grinning at her. "Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do now?" 

"This," she said and straddled him. Jason was confused by her actions, until she took a handful of slime that was on the top of her head and let it slowly drip onto his face. Jason's face scrunched up, his eyes shutting as he felt the cold substance. 

She laughed while he groaned. "Seriously?" Jason asked as he tried getting some of the goop off. Y/N climbed off of him and sat next to him in the grass. It was cool to the touch despite the hot day. 

"Yes, seriously." She replied. "This is going to take forever to wash out of my hair! I just took a shower only an hour ago." 

"For a Gotham hero, you weren't quite aware of your surroundings, were you?" He teased. He wiped some more of the slime off her. 

"I don't exactly expect to be attacked in the safety of my own home." 

"Attacked? Come on, it was just a little slime." He grinned. She rolled her eyes.

"You're unbelievable." Y/N laid down in the grass. Jason followed her movements, placing his hands behind his head to cushion himself.

"But you still love me." 

"That I do."


	10. Kidnapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally wake up and you're trying to figure out what exactly happened.

I woke up finally after what seemed like forever. I couldn't tell what was going on while I was out, but it's not like I had any dreams either. It was just darkness and a lot of muffled voices. When I decided to open my eyes, the first thing I saw was a light so I winced. As soon as I got used to the bright light I looked around a little. I could feel that I was strapped to a metal chair by rope. How typical. The room was mainly dark except for the light, but I could see Barb a few feet away from me knocked out. She had a few cuts and bruises on her. What happened?

Before I could try and wake her up, the door opened and I could see the silhouette of a small man. He may have been small but you could tell he was a man by how he stood. He walked in slowly, and my eyes adjusted. I could then tell that he had a hood on, and this was none other than Dr. Jonathon Crane himself. "Good. I'm glad to see you are awake." 

I tried holding back a growl. "Glad to be awake. Would've preferred not to be knocked out though. What is your problem?" 

"It does not matter to you. In a few short hours, all of Gotham will be under my control. The Cloudburst will release my fear toxin to everyone in the city, turning them into ruthless monsters. No one will be spared. It will expand to the state, and soon, the country. It would've been the country if it wasn't for Batman halting those plans for now." He said. 

"Oh, so that's what he did in ACE Chemicals." I remember Barb was talking to him while he was there, and poor Tim wanted so badly to help him out. Alfred was so worried for him when the place exploded, and even I was a little worried, but I should've known he'd be fine because he is Batman after all. I thought he was only there to save the firefighters, but I didn't know about the chemicals Crane had there. No one filled me in about it, but I'm not really surprised. I was kind of too busy looking into the murders of almost unidentifiable people. 

Before Crane could say another word, the door opened again to reveal the Arkham Knight. Great. He strutted in, the lights in his suit glowing. "Poor (Y/N). Trapped in a room with no one to help or save you." 

"Bull. Batman will save me and Barbara. He's dealt with worse than you two." I glared at him. His glowing eyes annoyed me. 

"You really think that old man is going to save you? That he's going to save you and you'll get your happy ending? Grow up." 

I hesitated for a second. Maybe it wouldn't happen. Maybe Bruce wouldn't be able to save us. I can't think like that. "Who are you?" I asked. Worth a shot, right?

He slowly walked up to me and I got a face full of bright lights from his mask. He couldn't be more than an inch away. "Ah, ah, ah. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. You'll find out sooner or later." 

"Why not? What's wrong? Scared I'll tell the 'old man' and you'll be revealed?" 

"Not at all, but you can't find out just yet. You'll know in time." He walked out with Scarecrow. Once again, I was alone. Hopefully Barb would wake up soon.


	11. Nothing Would Change Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara and the Reader have been kidnapped. (You could pretty much skip this chapter, it's just a filler for the most part)

The hours after that were long and absolutely boring. Every once in a while the Arkham Knight would come over and pester us, but that was about it. I wish I could at least see what was going on. right here, I was powerless and I hated it.

An hour ago they took Barbara and had her fake her death. I only knew this because she told me when Crane brought her back in covered in bruises and cuts. When she was wheeled in she looked like she was barely conscious at the time. 

Once she recovered a little, she explained to me what happened. I can't imagine how Bruce was feeling at this point. She said he looked broken at the time. I hope that he isn't stupid enough to be too crushed by this. A part of me believes he might, but then again, he is the, "World's Greatest Detective," he should be able to figure it out. 

On the other hand, I felt bad mentally. I feel like I should have seen this coming, even if it has never happened before. Tonight was so unpredictable that I should have predicted something like this. Plus we were so laid-back about everything when we could've been far more careful about things. 

It didn't matter anymore though. Nothing would change now.


	12. Audio File #4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman: Arkham Knight: Biographies: Arkham Knight: Audio File #4: PLAY

\--ARKHAM KNIGHT

\--AUDIO FILE 4

\--PLAY

Scarecrow: Patient, (L/N) (Y/N). Session one. Unlike Miss Gordon, dosage will not be necessary. 

Y/N L/N: What is this all about?

Scarecrow: For business that does not concern you. 

Y/N L/N: If I'm in this tape doesn't that mean it kind of does?

Scarecrow: Moving on. I will ask you the same thing I asked Miss Gordon previously. 

Y/N L/N: And what would that be?

Scarecrow: Who is Batman?

Y/N L/N: None of your business. 

Scarecrow: I was not sure if I would receive the same response from you, but that was not the answer I wanted.

Y/N L/N: You expected more?

Scarecrow: Yes, in fact, I did. 

Y/N L/N: You really shouldn't have.

Scarecrow: You have met the Batman, haven't you?

Y/N L/N: Maybe, why does it matter?

Scarecrow: Then you would be familiar with my fear toxin.

Y/N L/N: A little, yes.

Scarecrow: Do you know why I wear these syringes?

Y/N L/N : Don't know, don't care. 

Scarecrow: The toxin I disperse is usually an aerosol. While it works, it is not the same as when I use it in a dose. As soon as the needle is in your vein, the toxin makes its way into the bloodstream, and it's far more terrifying than the aerosol. It is beautiful, and the damage is more long-term and severe. 

Y/N L/N: That is fascinating.

Scarecrow: It is, isn't it? Luckily for me, you will be another victim to the dose offear toxin. I will get to see the toxin make toy with your mind before you succumb to your worst nightmares.

Y/N L/N: With all due respect, shove it up your ass.

Scarecrow: You won't be saying that soon.

Arkham Knight: Get away from her. Now.


	13. Audio File #5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman: Arkham Knight: Biographies: Arkham Knight: Audio File#5: PLAY   
> Stuff in stars (*insert words*) are things/actions since you can't actually listen to this! You think we could get Troy Baker to voice this for us?

\--ARKHAM KNIGHT

\-- AUDIO CLIP 5

\-- PLAY

Arkham Knight: Did he hurt you?

(Y/N) (L/N): No, but even if he did, why would you care?

Arkham Knight: Because if he did then Bruce would be here too early.

(Y/N) (L/N): Bruce?

Arkham Knight: Bruce, Batman, it's all the same. Scarecrow doesn't know though. I haven't bothered to tell him. Figured Bruce would tell him sooner or later.

(Y/N) (L/N): What makes you say that?

Arkham Knight: There won't be a point for him not to tell because tonight is when I have my boot on his neck and my gun against his head. 

(Y/N) (L/N): Why do you hate him so much? What has he done to you?

Arkham Knight: He abandoned me. When I needed him he left and didn't bother trying to find me. I talked all the time, trying to stall. I thought for so many months that he'd one day walk in and get me out. 

(Y/N) (L/N): Get you out of what?

Arkham Knight: Get me out of the grip of... him. 

(Y/N) (L/N): The grip of who? Who are you? 

Arkham Knight: You still don't get it, do you, (Y/N/N)?

(Y/N) (L/N) No one calls me that anymore. 

Arkham Knight: Since when? I always called you that. *In the background you hear shifting as the Arkham Knight takes off his helmet.*

*Silence is heard for a few short moments.*

(Y/N) (L/N): Jason..? 

Arkham Knight: Didn't realize it'd take you this long to figure it out. *A chuckle is heard.*

\--END TAPE


	14. Audio File #6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman: Arkham Knight: Biographies: Arkham Knight: Audio Files: Audio File #6

\--ARKHAM KNIGHT

\-- AUDIO CLIP #6

\-- PLAY

(Y/N) (L/N): But Jason, I saw the video...You died. 

Arkham Knight: That's what Bruce led you to believe. 

(Y/N) (L/N): He didn't lead me to believe anything! I saw the video the same time he did. You were shot in the chest, you couldn't survive that. 

Arkham Knight: Yet here I am, standing in front of you. And all that torture... All of it was his fault. He wouldn't search for me. 

(Y/N) (L/N): You know that's a lie, Jason! We searched for you everywhere. I searched for you for months. Bruce never wanted to stop looking for you, but after that video we thought you were gone. 

Arkham Knight: BULL! How long did it really take him to stop searching? Joker showed me the newspaper, he had a new Robin before the end of the month!

(Y/N) (L/N): He didn't get a new Robin for three months! He needed help so he could put more time on looking for you! I was busy and Dick was busy, we couldn't just keep on assisting him with everything. 

Arkham Knight: Clearly he didn't spend a lot of time on it, otherwise he would've found me years ago. 

(Y/N) (L/N): Jason, stop this nonsense. This isn't you. Just come back with us, let us help you. 

Arkham Knight: I don't need help. Tonight Bruce will die. He will have a bullet through his head. 

(Y/N) (L/N): He doesn't deserve it! No one could find you, we searched everywhere we could think of. Don't think that he looked in just a few places and stopped. He was devastated that he couldn't find you. 

Arkham Knight: You know, I would've thought you'd be on my side. After all, you were there for me for the times before it. 

(Y/N) (L/N): I am on your side, but right now you're being absurd! Jason, just hear us out. You aren't letting anyone help you, you're teaming up with the people who you sided against for years, you can't possibly think this will end well! 

Arkham Knight: It won't, not for Batman. (As a door is heard opening, the Arkham Knight puts his helmet on. )

Scarecrow: The Cloudburst is ready, Knight. It's time. 

Arkham Knight: Take her back to the room with Barbara. Don't let anyone touch her. They're dead if they do. 

\--END CLIP


	15. "Welcome to Gotham..."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarecrow releases the Cloudburst.

The first few minutes I sat in the room once I was put back in it were silent. I don't think I could've said anything even if I wanted to, and it seemed like Barb was the same way. I was still trying to wrap my brain around it all and it looked like Barbara found about Jason as well since she was quiet. 

"Did you find out who the Arkham Knight was?" She asked when she finally broke the silence in the dark room. 

"Yeah, I'm guessing you did too, huh?" I replied. She nodded curtly. 

The room was silent again while we heard explosions outside. There was a small window with metal bars that showed the city. Since I wasn't tied up I walked over to it. There, I could see a battle going on. It looked like it was the Batmobile against many different tanks and even a few helicopters. Once Bruce destroyed them, he connected the car to something, I couldn't tell what, and that thing exploded. 

He quickly drove off before I could try to show Barbara, despite the window being too high for her to see at a comfortable angle. It was still raining, and everything was lit up, but the entire city looked destroyed and eerie. If I looked through some of the buildings, I could see huge plants that were higher than a few of the buildings. It looks like Ivy made her way through things. 

"How is he alive?" Barbara asked, breaking my train of thought. 

"I don't know..." I trailed off. 

"We saw him get shot, we saw him collapse, there was no way he survived that-"

"Barbara please, just stop!" 

"Right, sorry (Y/N)... I know you cared for him a lot more than we did." She said, fidgeting with her fingers. 

"It's okay, but just give me some time. I still haven't processed this." I continued watching the sky. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her nod her head. I didn't mean to sound mean to her but I was just trying to realize what was going on. So much has happened in a single night and I've barely had a chance to breathe since we were kidnapped. 

Then suddenly a huge tank started crossing one of the bridges. It looked larger than all the others, and that's what made it worrisome. Barbara wheeled her way over and tried to look up as best as she could. The tank then deployed something. It was spreading across the city like wildfire. This must be the Cloudburst. 

"Did... Did Scarecrow win?" Barbara muttered, the gas covered the city, leaving only the tall buildings in sight. It almost looked like lava from up above, and it clearly was not going away anytime soon.

"No... He couldn't have." 

On one of the large screens in the city Scarecrow appeared. He was in a dark room, sitting. His eyes pierced into the camera, and it looked like he was staring at us. 

"Welcome to Gotham... the city of fear."


	16. Gordon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon has to decide whether his family is worth more than Batman's life.

"He couldn't have won... There's no way."

"At this point, would anything surprise you, (Y/N)?"

"No, I guess not..."

We continued to watch from the window as Gotham turned from screaming to silence. If we looked very closely we could see people beating each other up, but now, they were all dead or unconscious.

That was right before we heard yelling from the other side of the door. It didn't sound like Jason or Scarecrow, just another commander in their army. "The Arkham Knight's calling for 6 COBRA tanks on Bleake Island. He wants maximum protection for the Cloudburst tank."

"He's not doing what I think he's doing, is he?" Barb asked.

"I think he might... Jason's not calling for tanks for protection. He's trying to trap Bruce."

"He doesn't stand a chance against 7 tanks, even in the Batmobile!"

"No, no he doesn't."

~3rd Person POV

Batman drove through the many streets of Bleake Island, determined to destroy one COBRA tank at a time.

There was still four tanks left, excluding the Cloudburst tank. Batman drove up behind one tank waiting for the missile to prepare for launch.

One by one he destroyed the tanks until all that was left was the Cloudburst. He had to be extremely careful with this one due to how strong it was. It was clearly much larger than all the tanks and contained many different weapons.

Batman made his way around the tank as it scanned for him. Meanwhile, he was scanning the sides of it for any weaker points. If he could find any weak points throughout the armor, then he would have a shot at taking down the Cloudburst entirely. 

Once he scanned it, he found openings throughout all sides of the tank. Batman knew that it would take a while, but he had to fire the 60 mm cannons into all sides. The only problem is that he'd have to shoot and run for it; the tank would be too hard to fight. 

Slowly he made his way through it, getting it at all sides. There was one final battle before the Cloudburst tank was finished off. The explosion could be seen from a mile away. Once the sparks cleared, he spotted the Arkham Knight collapsed on the top. He quickly got out of the Batmobile and brought the Knight to the top of a building. 

There, he started punching the Knight until his helmet was off. It revealed to be Joker, another one of Batman's hallucinations. Joker started laughing like there was no tomorrow. As Bruce received an incoming call from Alfred, the Knight disappeared. 

~

Your POV

We continued to watch through the window as the city was stuck in a cloud of fear toxin. Every once in a while we felt some sort of earthquakes. We tried figuring out what it could be but we had no idea. 

Suddenly, we saw a huge plant race out of the ground and flowers bloom on it. "So that's what was happening..." 

"What do the plants do exactly?" I asked Barbara. 

"If my suspicions are right, the plants are able to take the toxin from the air and replace it with clean air. Bruce must be trying to get the toxin removed that way." 

"So that's why he released Ivy; so she could help him with the Cloudburst." 

"Exactly." 

As the minutes passed by, we saw the plant's bark harden and the gas clouds disappear. After about an hour the entire city was covered in dandelions instead of an orange fear toxin cloud. It was strange to see, but I'd much rather it than what it was shortly before. 

Before anything else could happen, a bunch of militiamen busted the door open and grabbed us. "You're coming with us." The one man, I think is the commander, said. 

Two men held my arms behind me and the others pushed Barbara. As we were in the elevator they tied our arms so that we couldn't go anywhere, and I was placed into a chair. When we reached the top floor, there stood Scarecrow, looking as annoying as always. 

"Good, you brought them here quickly." 

"Yes, sir." 

"I am sure you both would like to hear what's going on, so I will inform you. The Batman is currently fighting the Arkham Knight, you two are merely insurance. In case Knight does not kill him, we have you two to do it."

"What, you expect us to shoot him or something?" I asked. 

"Oh no, not at all. You two are bait. Commissioner Gordon will be thrilled to see his daughter, and he would do anything to save two victims, especially when Miss Gordon is one of them." He said, walking up close to me. 

"It won't work. None of your plans have ever worked." 

"That's because it was all leading up to this." He walked away from us. I looked over to Barb and we shared a worried glance. 

The minutes passed by until we saw the elevator open once again. There stood Bruce and Gordon. They weren't able to see us yet but considering how the militiamen were walking up to us. 

"On your knees, Crane. Now." Gordon stated, aiming his gun at Scarecrow.

"So you did it. I must admit, I had my doubts that you could make this happen." 

"I'm not asking again," Bruce said, and Crane turned around to face them. 

"And I'm not talking to you. It is time."

"Time for what?" Gordon then turned his gun to aim at Batman. "Jim?"

"I'm sorry. It was the only way. Get me, my family." 

We were both rolled out by the men. "Dad!" Barbara called out to him. 

"Barbara. (Y/N). Are you alright?! Did he hurt you?" 

"Gordon, what are you doing?!" I asked. 

"Call in the transport. We're leaving." Scarecrow said.

"Yes, sir." The militiamen left. 

"It is time for the people of Gotham to see their savior for who he truly is. A man. Just a man. Devoid of hope, betrayed by his friends, crippled by fear." He walked behind us and put one hand on our shoulders. 

"Let them go," Gordon said. 

"You both still have a part to play." 

"We had a deal," Jim said as he turned his gun back to Scarecrow. Two men behind us pointed their guns at him.

"Once I understood your greatest fear, controlling you was simple. You blame yourself for Miss Gordon's condition. Capturing Miss (L/N) here was a plus. You need to protect them, but buried deep down is the inevitability that you will one day fail. And that fear makes you mine." He walked up next to Barbara's wheelchair and turned her head to face him. 

"Think very carefully about your next move, Commissioner. Their lives depend on it." Crane continued.

Gordon looked down at the ground before aiming at Bruce and shooting him. Bruce fell back off the railing. "No!" Barbara and I both yelled. 

The militiamen quickly took hold of Gordon. "Did you think I want him dead? Did you think that would save your family? Do you know what happens when a man refuses to be controlled by his fears? He must face them!" Scarecrow asked him as he started rolling both of us back. 

"No! Take me. It's not them that you want. Take me!" Gordon yelled. Crane rolled Barbara all the way back first. 

"You don't scare me." She said. 

"Shh... It's okay to be afraid." He said, before letting her go. I closed my eyes while hearing her scream until it stopped suddenly. That's when I felt the tears coming.

I opened my eyes when Crane started rolling me back. "Go to Hell." I spat at him. And then he let go.


	17. GCPD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain someone saves you from an untimely death.

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die. I'm here in the last five seconds of it to say that that is a lie. All I'm seeing is bits and pieces of the sky and the ground as I'm falling. I'm thinking about how this surprisingly seems longer than it is. You think that it'd be a quick way to die, but it really isn't. It's kind of like time slows, or you're in the Matrix. 

There are a few things that come into mind besides that it seems to be taking forever. I got to see Jason one more time before I was dead. The problem was that I never really got to talk to him. It wasn't for long, and all I found out was that he was the one who wanted Bruce dead. I never got to find out how he survived, or what he has been doing for all these years. 

I didn't want to die yet though. I was only (insert reasonable age, like 1,000 or something). I was planning on dying when I was old and wrinkly. But, what did I expect when I get into a life like this? 

Instead of feeling cement, I felt arms. Not what I expected but I don't mind it a single bit. Once I calmed down a little from what happened, I looked up and saw the familiar face who had a 'J' on his cheek.

"Looks like my luck is still there." I grinned. He chuckled. 

"I'm glad I caught you." And as soon as he said that I felt his lips on mine. It was strange, and for a second I wasn't sure how to react, but I kissed back. 

It didn't last long because we heard the Batmobile's missles from only a couple blocks away. "You haven't changed a single bit, have you?" He asked. 

"Not at all." I laughed. "Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Where were you all these years?"

"Do you mean after the video?"

"Yeah..."

"Pretty much everywhere that wasn't here. I was making deals with people from around the world while I was building up an army. An army that would take down anyone, and yet Batman has somehow taken the entire damn army in one night."

"Language!" I scolded him.

"You're one to talk." He chuckled. "I heard what you said to Scarecrow."

"He deserved it."

"Just because you think he deserves it means you can cuss?"

"Yep."

We laughed a little before there was a sudden silence. I wasn't sure what to say still, it was all kind of strange. We both saw the Batmobile suddenly drive to GCPD. "If I got you over there, would you be able to get in?"

"Probably, they would be able to see it's me through the cameras outside. I think I'd be able to sneak in."

"Good, hold on tight." He grappled across the rooftops until we reached GCPD. We were nearby, only a block away. It was just walking distance so I could get to it easily. 

"Jason, why don't you come back to us?" I asked.

He scoffed and said, "Because I hate Bruce. He let Joker run wild for years after he tortured me. He didn't even kill the bastard, and I bet he didn't want him to die either." 

"Jay, you know what he thinks about murder, there is no way he could've done that." 

"I'm not talking about killing Scarecrow or Dent, I'm talking about him. Just him. That's all I wanted."

"You've heard the same story Bruce told me once! If he kills then there's an abyss that he won't be able to escape from. He won't commit any act of murder, even if it was Joker." 

"Unbelievable. You're as gullible as everyone else." And then he took off.


	18. Memory 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A past memory before Jason was captured and killed by the Joker.

(Y/N) and Jason were getting home from a recent fight with Two-Face and his goons. They were bruised, and even had a few cuts across their arms and legs, but for the most part they were alright. "We should've been more careful about it. If we did, we wouldn't have to be sticking band-aids and disinfectant on everything once we get back to the manor." (Y/N) complained.

"Relax, it'll take ten minutes to do it. Besides, it was more fun to do it the way we did." Jason grinned.

"You mean by walking up to Dent, punching him in the face once, before saying, 'I learned that from the pizza man'?" You asked, laughing at the thought.

"Oh, come on, even you snickered when I did it."

"Bruce would've killed you if he saw you do it." 

"But he didn't see it, and we still got Harvey behind bars in the end. And don't think that I didn't see you making references to old horror movies to those guys. Right before you knocked the one guy out you made that violin noise from Psycho." He chuckled.

"It's funny to see the look on their faces." 

"Yeah, it is. It's like they never expect to be caught." 

"Exactly!" The two laughed. 

When they finally got back to the manor and patched themselves up with a ton of band-aids, they crashed onto one of the couches in the living room. The two were exhausted from the battle, even though they had the energy of five-year olds most days. "So, what do we do now?" 

"Netflix?" 

"Definitely." (Y/N) smirked at him. She grabbed the remote to the TV and turned it on. 

"What to watch tonight... Horror or comedy?" She asked.

"Comedy. We've done horror every other night this week."

"Parks and Recreation it is." 

~ Time Skip about 3 days later

"I can't believe we just watched that much of a show in three days." (Y/N) said.

"I can. Did you see how much of Supernatural we did once in a week?" 

"Yeah, you're right." 

"I know I'm right." She rolled her eyes when he said that.

"You're ridiculous." 

"But you love me." He grinned.

"Not sure why." She muttered. 

"What was that, (Y/N/N)?" He asked, leaning in closer. The two of them always joked about such a subject, but he was kind of surprised at what he thought she just said. 

"I said, not sure why." She said and walked out of the room.

"Wait, what does that mean?!" He ran after her.

"It means I love you, but I am not sure why." (Y/N) rolled her eyes at him. Was she speaking Chinese?

Jason stopped in his tracks. "Huh... okay, cool..." He turned around and left for a while. 

For the next few days (Y/N) didn't see much of Jason because he was always out on patrol. This worried her a bit because she knew he always went out a lot when he needed to think. Was it because she sort of said that she loves him? Did he never realize it before that? She figured it was quite obvious that she liked him as more than a friend, but the two never did anything more than that. (Y/N) never hid it to him, but she never said anything about it either.

When Jason finally returned, he started walking through the entire manor in search for (Y/N). He was determined to talk to her immediately. He just had to find her first. Only problem was that the place was as big as Gotham so it could take him hours to find her.

He finally found her in the West wing, in one of the sitting rooms, watching RuPaul's Drag Race. Why, he wasn't sure, but at least he found her. He walked up behind her, took the remote, and turned off the TV. 

She turned towards him and stood up when she realized who it was. "What was that for? I was watching it!" 

"We need to talk." 

(Y/N) turned serious after that sentence. "About what?" 

"What you said a few days ago." 

"What about it? Did I mess something up when I did that?" 

"Yeah, you did!" He replied angrily.

"First off, it was a sucky way to confess and two, I wanted to do it first." He whined. 

"Are you serious?" She asked with a blank face. 

"So, to fix it, I will confess to you right now." He ignored what she said. She nodded her head slowly.

"For a while I used to think of you as just my best friend, but over time I started liking you as more than just a friend. I have no idea where I was going with this so I will use a Parks and Recreation quote for it... I like you and I love you." He said. 

That was when (Y/N) started laughing. She couldn't stop laughing at what he said. He just complained about her confession being "sucky," while his was no better. "Stop laughing!" He groaned.

"I can't help it!" She said in between laughs. 

Once she finally calmed down she saw him glaring at her, but she knew behind that glare was a little bit of laughter too. "Well, glad to hear it!" She grinned. Jason just frowned at her. (Y/N) knew he'd wanted her to say, "I love you too," but she wouldn't give him that much.

"Anything else you might want to add?" He asked.

"Hmm...oh wait, yes!" His eyes lit up. 

"What then?" 

"I pranked Bruce while you were gone yesterday."


	19. Or Was it a Bat?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Barb back at GCPD, but the night's not over yet.

I made my way into GCPD once Cash spotted me on the cameras. I never realized how long it took to get all the way to the bottom by walking. When I entered I saw the cells filled with militia commanders, ordinary thugs, checkpoint commanders, and more. All of them were yelling something about how painful their injuries are or that Scarecrow was going to kill Batman. 

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Cash chuckled, "Or was it a bat?" 

"Neither actually. Ventured over by myself." I grinned.

"Weren't you supposed to be out of the city by now?" 

"You know I don't listen to Jim unless it's an order from the Commissioner." 

"Yeah, yeah. Still, you should have made it out tonight. Barbara's here too, she's over in the computer lab if you want to see her." He pointed over to the room.

"Thanks Aaron." I said before walking over to her. 

I walked over to her, where she seemed focused on the computers and the many different screens filled with code. Honestly, I had no idea what any of it meant, I never bothered asking her. I would have no idea what most of it meant even if she spent all day explaining it. "Hey Barbara," I said. 

She turned her head and her eyes lit up. "(Y/N)! I thought when he pushed you over you were gone. How did you survive that?" She asked while turning her head back to some of the cameras. 

"Well, let's just say an old friend helped out if you know what I mean." I pulled up a chair and watched what she was doing. 

"Right. I'm not surprised. It was so obvious from the very first time you two met that you'd like each other." 

"We were kids. That was a long time ago, I'm sure he's forgotten."

"Well, you know what they say, you never forget your first love." She teased. 

"After everything he's been through and done, I'm not sure if that would apply to this situation." 

"Good point." We both shared a laugh until there was multiple beeping sounds from the computer. Suddenly, I see Bruce running in from the corner of my eye. I know he noticed me, but he doesn't say anything. I'm guessing whatever is happening isn't good. 

"Great, you're here." Barbara looks at him and then back at the computer. "Scarecrow's flew out towards the bay before heading north. I tried narrowing it down further but the data's corrupted. They did more damage than I thought." Before she could explain any further, the whole basement floor shook. "What the hell was that?!" 

"Trouble." He said. 

The computer screen was taken over by a new live stream of Scarecrow. "Gallant police force of Gotham, I have a message for you. You are not safe. You are not protected. Batman will not save you. This is the beginning of the end for you, Dark Knight." The screen ended and it changed back to the cameras.

"Like hell it is. The Batcomputer's back online, Batman. I'll do what I can. Good luck, hit 'em hard." She said. 

Before Batman left the floor I stopped him. "What's about to happen?" 

"That's what I intend to find out." 

"Be careful, alright? Scarecrow's still out there and so is a ton of other crazy people."

"I'll be fine, (Y/N). Stay indoors, and don't go out no matter what." I nodded and he left.

I went back to Barbara where she was hacking into the rest of the cameras in the city. On the one screen, I could see Bruce fighting thugs right outside the doors. I don't know how he does it, but he takes them all out in a matter of minutes without a single blow. The computer and the lights went out, and you could hear everyone yelling, trying to figure out what happened. 

"Barbara, isn't there a generator on the outside of GCPD that Batman can start up again?" I asked. 

"Yeah, we just have to hope he can get to it." She turned on her communicator and switched it to him. "Batman, there's a generator outside of the building. GO!" And it turned off.   
After only a minute of hearing missiles hit GCPD, we hear back from Bruce. "Oracle, the generator's destroyed." He said. 

"Damn it!" She cussed into her communicator. 

"Batman, there should be the backups in the underground garage. If you can get that up and running, we'll have enough power to end this." I took her communicator and told him. 

"It should've come online, but the parking garage door's jammed so you'll be able to get in and access it from there," Barb said. 

She turned it off and all we could do was wait while listening to the explosions up above. "Did he ever tell you what happened to Jason?"

"No. He didn't really have a chance. By the time we were back here and I was set up, that's when you arrived. But how did Jason get you back here?"

"Simple, he saved me right before I made it to the ground and he grappled us over to the building. But something was different. His helmet was pure red. It wasn't lit up like it was before." 

"So what really happened when Batman saw Jason?"

"That's what I want to find out."

"Maybe he got to Jason, maybe he was able to convince him to come back." 

"No, when I talked to him, he definitely did not have a revelation of any kind. Jason's still angry at him." 

Barbara looked down and we stayed in silence for a few minutes. The power then came back on and everyone in the area cheered. The problem was that we saw the cameras and there was easily 50 tanks and helicopters waiting for anyone to come out. "Oh, my God..." 

"Oracle, the backup generator's power is back on," Batman said. 

"Good. Let's get you out there. Head to the car and I'll get out- What?! No way?!" 

"What is it?"

"A vulnerability in the militia's network. Idiots. I think I can hijack their drones." She started typing into the computer, opening up program after program.

"Good. Get ready for a fight." He ended the comms. 

"Barb, how about I help Batman fight this one? You've already done enough, and it gives me a chance to see how my coding skills are now." I grinned. 

"Go for it, I'll help you if you need it." 

Bruce had the Batmobile at the front of the gate, ready to go for it. "Ready, Batman?" I asked. 

"Ready."

"Oracle and I will be right out there fighting alongside you."

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Let's finish this!" The gate opened and this time, we were going to give it everything we've got. It's time for this night to be over.


	20. Birthday Special!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote this on Wattpad, it was just a couple days after his birthday, but this is important for later!

Jason Todd was not a fan of birthdays. At all. He hated them in fact, and since he never got to really have one with family, he didn't care. You were the exact opposite, you loved to go all out for birthdays for everyone.

That's why Jason dreaded having his 15th birthday this year. His 15th birthday would be his first birthday after being "adopted" by the playboy billionaire, Bruce Wayne. Ever since he was adopted by him, he quickly became your best friend, and only a few months before it, he became your boyfriend. Well, for lack of a better word. You two were still pretty new to the whole idea. Therefore, he was slightly terrified of what you'd force him to do when the day came.

"No big plans, you hear me?" He told you one day when the two of you were hanging out. 

"But Jason," you whined, "it's your 15th birthday! You only get one, so you deserve something big for it." 

"No, I don't. I don't want anything that involves a huge party, going out somewhere or something that involves a ton of people I don't even know." He rolled his eyes. 

"Well, I wouldn't do that to you. We already show up at enough of the galas Bruce holds every month. If I have to go to another summer barbecue party I think I'm going to die." You laughed. 

"Good, then there shouldn't be anything big. I don't want anything big. I want it to be a normal day. August 16th, it is just an ordinary day." 

"You're not winning this. You're having something big for your birthday no matter what." 

(Switching to 3rd Person, wanted to just try it out. Let me know what you thought of 2nd person though!) 

For the next two weeks, Y/N was constantly sneaking around Jason to get things ready for his birthday. He was about ready to kill her for it because all he wanted to do was just go on patrol that night without having to worry about coming home to a huge party with confetti or something. 

When he woke up on August 16th, he groaned at the idea of what he'd find as soon as he opened his eyes. Alfred walked into his room and opened the blinds, causing Jason to hiss at the light. "Good morning, Master Todd." 

"Morning, Alfred." When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that there was nothing big in his room, nor was there a certain (e/c) person in his room, waiting for him to wake up. While he was relieved to find that, he was also a bit disappointed. 

"Everyone is downstairs eating breakfast if you care to join them. However, Master Wayne has already left because he had work to do at the office, but he wishes you a happy birthday." Alfred smiled warmly and left his room. 

Jason got dressed and made his way down the stairs and into the dining room, where Dick, Barbara, and (Y/N) all sat, eating eggs and bacon. (Y/N) noticed him first and grinned at him mischievously, "Good morning, Jason! And happy birthday!" 

Jason said his thanks while Barbara and Dick wished him a happy birthday as well. He cautiously sat down at the table and began to eat the plate that was set up for him. (Y/N)'s grin was alarming to him, especially since nothing big had happened yet. When Dick had his birthday, (Y/N) made sure that the whole manor was coated in balloons and decor for him to see. This is what really confused him, and once again he felt a little disappointed at it. 

"So, Dick and I were just talking about how Scarecrow got out of the asylum this morning. Apparently, he hasn't been seen yet, but Bruce says that there's something going on over in ACE Chemicals. We figured we'd check it out later tonight. Want to join? Barbara can't come since she's going to stay on patrol for the night." (Y/N) told him after finishing her plate.

He was a bit skeptical of them leaving while Babs was supposedly out on patrol, but he took the chance anyway. "Sure, I've got nothing better to do tonight anyway." 

"Great!" 

~

That afternoon Jason spent most of his time trying to find any sign of a possible blow up of confetti, streamers, or of (Y/N) talking secretly on the phone. He couldn't find any of that though and resorted to just reading one of the many books in the library. Jason was about to flip to the next page in his book when he heard the door to the library open and close. 

He turned his head to see (Y/N) walking in with a couple of shopping bags. "You went shopping?" He asked. 

"Yeah, just picked up a couple things. I can be your typical teenage girl when I want to be, you know." She laughed and placed them down next to an empty shelf. 

"And what are they filled with exactly?" 

"Just a bunch of books I found at one of the stores over on Main Street. We are in a library, what did you expect me to bring in here?" 

"Not sure, but for some reason, I just don't trust you today with anything." He told her with a hint of amusement in his voice. 

"Why would that be?"

"Because you're not you if you don't do something big on someone's birthday." 

"You said you didn't want anything big, and that you wanted it to be a normal day. All I can do is respect that. Nothing big, there's nothing planned for today. Anyway, I have to go get ready. We're supposed to meet up with Dick in about an hour over by ACE." She said before leaving the room. 

Jason couldn't be any more shocked at what she said. No surprises? No plans? And there was that feeling again. Relief and disappointment. Did he really want something for his birthday? He wanted to check the bags once before he went to go get ready, so he put his book back on the shelf and walked over to the bags. Inside, all he could find were books. Nothing more. 

~

The fight with Scarecrow took much longer than they planned for, and it was nearly 2 AM when they finished. As it turned out, Crane wasn't making his big plans there, but instead had the help of Riddler to give them riddle after riddle to find the duo. Jason, (Y/N), and Dick worked hard to find them but were able to solve all the riddles and stop them before it'd be too late. 

"All I want to do is heat up some of the dinner that Alfred left over and sleep." (Y/N) rubbed her eye while Jason and she walked across the rooftops. Dick had to do one final scan of the city to make sure everything was alright. 

"Yeah, who knew those two would be a pain all by themselves?" He chuckled. She laughed with him. 

Bracing himself once again to walk into the Manor to find it lit up and crazy, he found nothing. It was mostly dark, except for a few lights to light their way to their bedrooms. (Y/N) seemed legitimately exhausted, and he knew that he would find nothing for his birthday, despite it officially being over hours ago. 

"Night Jason, see you, probably not in the morning, more like afternoon." She laughed before walking into her room. Jason said his goodnight to her and went in his room and laid on the bed. 

He stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep yet. Jason was actually sad to see that there was no birthday surprise waiting for him like for the rest of the family. He enjoyed seeing everyone's annoyed faces when they saw everything on their birthday, and it was like a part of him wanted to be able to do that too. Another part of him was happy that it was just a typical birthday for him. But then again, it's like this one was special because he had an actual family to celebrate it with. Maybe next year he'll try it, but this year, he was too late. 

~

The following morning, Jason woke up fairly early, which was unusual for him. Any other time, Alfred had to open the curtains to wake him up, but this time he wouldn't have to. While he was on his phone, he heard a light knock on the door. He knew Alfred was about to walk in. Right as he saw the doorknob turn, he heard a muffled voice. "Wait, Alfred, I'll do it." He knew that voice anywhere. 

"Very well." He heard Alfred respond. 

Jason watched the door knob turn and the door open slowly, to see (Y/N) smiling at him. "Wow, I didn't expect to see you up and about at this ungodly hour." 

"It's 8:30 in the morning, it's not an ungodly hour." 

"It is to me." They both laughed, and that's when Jason realized that (Y/N)'s hands were behind her back this entire time. Before he could say anything, she walked up to his bed and sat across from him. 

"So, you said that I couldn't do anything special yesterday, so I didn't. But, you said nothing about the day after." He should've known this was coming, but he didn't groan when she said it, and she was surprised at that. She finally showed what was in her hands, which was just a small present. 

"A present?" 

"Yep. I figured I'd start off your big celebration with the present first." She grinned. The present was a small green box with a black ribbon going across it, a single black bow on the top. He opened the present, curious about what he'd find inside. Inside the box was the first season of the show, "Supernatural." His eyes lit up seeing it. Supernatural was the one show they both loved to watch together, so they would only watch the episodes when the other was around. It was how they first started their friendship. 

Jason walked around the entirety of Wayne Manor on his first day inside. He was nervous about it all, not only because the owner was the wealthiest man in Gotham, but also because of its size. He tried mapping it all out in his head, but he knew it was futile because he already forgot what the East Wing had. He stumbled upon one of the many sitting rooms in the Manor and saw a girl watching a show on TV. "Hello?" He called out.

(Y/N) turned her head to look at him. "Oh, hi! You must be the kid Bruce just recently took under his wing, right?"

"Yeah, my name's Jason. Jason Todd." He held his hand out for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Jason. I'm (Y/N) (L/N)." She shook hands with him before glancing back at the TV.

To stop things from getting uncomfortable too quickly, he tried coming up with something to talk about. "So, what are you watching?" 

"I'm watching Supernatural. It's this really cool show that's only started a month ago. I don't want to spoil anything by telling you what it's about, but I wouldn't mind starting from the beginning of the season. Want to watch with me?" She asked, stopping the recording. 

"Sure, that sounds pretty cool." 

By making him watch the first episode of that show, it sparked the friendship between them as they watched the show every week when a new episode came on. The two of them would quote it constantly to Bruce, who saw a few episodes, but he could never get into it since his phone would ring every 20 minutes. 

Jason loved the gift as soon as he saw what it was. (Y/N) could tell just by looking at his face that he liked it. "Open it, there's a little something inside too." She told him. 

He pulled the case out of the sleeve and opened it. Inside were the discs, but also a folded note. He grabbed it gently and opened it up. Inside was written, "I know you didn't want anything special for your birthday, fight me. I couldn't help it! Happy (belated) Birthday, Jason - (Your First Initial) <3." 

"I love it..." was all he had to say for it. He didn't realize how much he'd love just having someone remember his birthday and get him a gift. He never got to experience it, and now knowing what it feels like, he didn't want to have an ordinary day for his birthday anymore. He still didn't want the whole party or anything, just someone to show that they care.

"Good! Because there's still some more for your birthday, don't worry!" 

"(Y/N)," he warned her, "this is still way more than I wanted. I didn't want anything for my birthday and you know that." 

"I know, which is why the last thing is that for breakfast you aren't having an actual meal and everyone is currently waiting for you to get down there so we can all sing the happy birthday song and eat cake." 

"You made a cake?"

"Well, technically Barb made the cake. She wasn't actually on patrol last night since she helped Alfred with the cake making. Bruce worked yesterday so he could have the day off today so we could all be one big family for the day after your birthday." 

"Then let them wait a little bit longer." 

"Why?"

Jason didn't say a word as he hugged her tightly. It was too much and just enough at the same time. He never wanted any of this for his birthday but he loved what he just got. The gift, the cake, everyone home, and having (Y/N) plan all this just for him. He loved it more than he imagined he would. 

(Y/N) hugged him back and smiled. 

"Happy birthday, Jason."


	21. Knightfall Protocol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They may have beaten the Arkham Knight, but the night's not over yet.

The fight went on for ten minutes. There had to be over 50 tanks and helicopters out there ready to destroy Bruce. But it took him ten minutes to destroy them. Barbara and I helped out as much as we could, and helped him destroy quite a few of them. Destroyed pieces of tanks were everywhere and it knocked out some of the cameras around the area. All you could hear around us was cheers and applaud as the explosions stopped above. 

Before we could do anything else, Barbara checked the surveillance cameras that were still active. "We did it! No, wait, Scarecrow's just dropped infantry on the roof. They're trying to bypass the security lock. I can hold them off, but not for long." She said. 

"Batman, I've got control of the security and utility systems on the rooftop. I can take the bastards out, you just set them up." I told him through my earpiece as I loaded up the programming systems. 

Bruce grappled up to the rooftop and threw a smoke pellet before going in and knocking two out in seconds. I prepped the fence to electrocute anyone who touched it. As he knocked out a couple more, I told him to use the fence. He pushed one of the men into the fence before they could do anything and he was out cold. 

He swiftly punched the next man before using the batclaw to pull him to the steam pipes and daze him. I activated those and he was out. The last man Bruce had to take care of was the brute, but I couldn't do anything about him. He dazed him and threw punch after punch before using a final blow on him. 

As he finished him off, a helicopter flew down with more men and two brutes. The men had medical kits and katanas this time. He started fighting them one by one, dodging over the brutes and trying to knock out the med guys as soon as possible. "Batman, the steam pipes!" I yelled at him and he was able to bring a couple of guys over them. I knocked them out quickly with a press of a button. 

The rest of the systems were inactive at the moment so, for the most part, I watched Bruce as he knocked every guy unconscious. Cash walked up and watched the cameras in awe behind me and Barbara. When he was done, I pulled up the communicator and Cash talked to him. "Batman, there's a lot of people in here looking to thank you, all three of you. And I'm one of them. It looked bad for a minute there." 

Barbara looked at him. "Thanks, Aaron, but you don't need to... Oh, God." 

"What is it?" Batman asked. 

"I think Scarecrow's at the movie studios. Dad's voice was just used to gain access." 

"Pull up a surveillance feed." 

"I've tried. And I can't get a hold of Robin. He was in there, right?"

"Don't worry, Oracle. I'm on my way." 

I placed my hand on Barbara's shoulder while I tried to comfort her. "Barb, it'll be alright. He's strong. I'm sure he's alright." She smiled at me. 

"I hope he is..." Before we could say anything else, a screen popped up and Scarecrow was on the computer, sitting in the dark room. 

"You think you really stand a chance at winning? All night I've had live bombs all around GCPD. I know at least one of Batman's little helpers are there. If you don't want those bombs to detonate in five minutes, one of you will be on the rooftop with my men. If you aren't there, the building will crash down onto every single one of you in that basement. You have only five minutes." The live feed went off. 

"Oh, my God. When did he get the bombs on the building?" Barb asked. 

"I don't know... Nor do I care. If Batman's ever taught me anything, it's that sometimes you need to make sacrifices." 

"(Y/N) you aren't really thinking about going up there, are you?" 

"What other choice do we have, Babs? If he detonates the building, everyone in here, including us, will die. I can't let that happen. I won't let anyone here get crushed." 

"But we don't know what he'll do with you! What if he kills you?"

"Then at least I know you'll be safe here along with every officer, firefighter, and criminal here. You all will still be alive no matter what." 

"And what if he detonates this place anyway?" 

"Then I'll know I tried. If he does it even after I go up, then it means he was going to do it either way." I stood up and started walking out. "Barb, it's going to be okay. You know that better than most of us." I smiled and left the room. 

I walked to the nearest elevator and pressed the roof button. The ride seemed to take forever this time around. My adrenaline seemed to be getting higher and higher as I felt the elevator go up. The doors opened and I was greeted by many men holding guns directly at me. Before I could even walk out, two men grabbed me and pulled my arms back and forced me to walk to the helicopter. 

I was forced to sit down and I watched the helicopter take off. The GCPD building shrunk as we flew across the water. I had no idea where we were going, and I wasn't paying attention to anything the militia was saying. I looked out the window of the helicopter and I saw Arkham Asylum close by. That's when I realized where we were going. 

~

I was brought into the Arkham Mansion on the island. The men pushed me through the doors, into the Great Hall. I saw Scarecrow was nowhere to be seen, but off to the side, Gordon and Tim were there. "Tim! Gordon!" The men let go of me as I ran to them. Behind them was a ton of TV screens, all showing different news shows talking about Gotham city. 

"Y/N?" Tim lifted his head up. His wrists were tied behind his back while he was in a chair. 

"Are you alright?" 

"Yeah... They did a number on me though." He joked lightly. I smiled a little at him, but I was still concerned. Gordon stood next to him with a hand on Tim's shoulder. 

"Are you alright too, Jim?" I asked him. All he did was nod. The doors opened again and I spun around to see Bruce locked down on what we usually bring the Arkham patients in. Next, to him, Scarecrow was pulling him down. 

"Batman... Is that... You?" Robin asked. 

"I'm sorry Robin. And I'm sorry, (Y/N)." Batman turned to look at us. 

"Batman, come on, what's going on here?" 

I noticed how all the TV screens now showed different headlines, all talking about how Batman was captured by Scarecrow. Some mentioned how I was revealed to be a helper for him, and that Robin was also captured. "Are you ready?" Crane asked.

"This isn't going to end how you think, Crane," Batman told him. 

"Enough bravado. It's too late for that. I don't care who you are, but they will." He pointed to the countless TV screens showing reporters, including Vicki Vale, of course, waiting to announce the identity of the Batman. "I'm going to rob them of hope. As they stare into your eyes, they will blame you... Failure will have a face and a name." 

"It's time." He announced. "Mister Gordon, I would like you to do the honors." 

"Never. I'm done taking orders from you." He replied. Scarecrow pulled out a gun and pointed it at Robin. Before I knew what was going on, he pointed it at me and shot my leg. I fell to the floor as I yelped in pain. It was a sharp pain, one that while I knew what to expect, I never wanted to feel again. Tears were in my eyes already as I tried putting pressure on it immediately. 

Gordon helped me sit up. "You bastard!" 

"Take off that mask, or my next shot will kill her." 

"It's okay," Batman said. 

"It's not okay! You know what this means!" 

"It's the end," Bruce said, and for a second the pain didn't matter. Hearing him say that broke my heart. Tonight would never be just another night for Batman. Tonight would be his final night. 

Gordon stood up and walked to him. "When they find out who you are, there will be no more hiding." 

"You need to trust me, Jim." 

"NOW!" Scarecrow yelled. Gordon slowly put his hands on either side of the cowl, and it loosened as soon as he got near it. He pulled it off, and under it, there was Bruce Wayne. The billionaire playboy himself. The TV screens went ballistic with the new information, but it didn't matter. It was like everything was silent. 

"Wayne?" Crane was shocked. "Bruce Wayne? Now the world can see you for what you truly are. A legend laid bare. Powerless. Human. Afraid." He said as he prepared the syringes on his hand. He quickly stabbed the needles into Bruce's chest. I turned my head because I couldn't watch anymore. 

Minutes passed and I finally turned back to watch. Bruce would mutter things here and there, but it was incoherent. The grin on his face was terrifying. It reminded me of the Joker's, and it sent chills down my spine. 

"Do you know what happens now, Mr. Wayne? I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to set you free." Scarecrow said. "Free to see the city you swore to defend tear itself apart. Free to see everyone you loved hunted down and killed. Every scream, every death, vengeance for all the Batman has done." 

"Good," Batman said, but it didn't sound like him at all. It sounded more like Joker. That's when I noticed his eyes were a bright green. 

"What? Do you not understand? It is over." 

"Get ready for the encore!" He started laughing maniacally. I couldn't watch again. This was exactly what he never wanted to be. 

"Why - aren't - you - scared?" Scarecrow asked, frustrated. He stuck the needles in again, upping the dosage of the fear toxin. Bruce started laughing again before it faded. 

Many minutes passed and Scarecrow watched him carefully before turning to the camera. I looked at Bruce again, but this time his eyes were fading from the green into the soft blue again. Whatever he did, he was back. 

"Do you understand, Gotham? You have no savior. No more hope. No - more - Batman!" Crane turned again to stick more of the toxin into Bruce. He grunted and winced. The veins in his neck and face were turning into a sickly black as his skin turned pale. "I've won!" 

"I'm not afraid, Crane." And just like that, all of the black in his veins was gone, he was completely normal again. 

"Impossible." He pulled the syringes out and put the gun against Bruce's head. "Without fear, life is meaningless." Before he could pull the trigger, a sniper shot the gun out of his hand. I looked up to where it was shot from, and I could see Jason up there. He shot Bruce's restraints off just as Crane was about to use more of the toxin. Bruce caught his hand. Before Jason left, I gave him a smile. I know he saw it, and I could practically see the smirk under his helmet. 

Bruce put Crane in a choke hold and used the syringes against him. "No!" Scarecrow yelled. 

"What's wrong, scared?" Bruce asked him. He pushed Crane away and the man made the camera knock over as he stumbled. He started looking all around, screaming, before Jim knocked him out with a blow to the head. Bruce walked over and helped me stand. 

Gordon helped Tim up, who said nothing. He was quiet this whole time. I don't blame him, so much had happened in a short amount of time. The pain in my leg shot up as I tried standing, and Bruce just slowly passed me off to Tim, who picked me up. "Thanks, Tim." He nodded and smiled. 

"Look after them, Jim. Look after them all. You've been a good friend. The best I could ask for. You were there at the beginning... Now, you get to see how it ends." Bruce picked up the cowl and put it on as he left.

~

I was being patched up at GCPD when Bruce came back with Scarecrow. I didn't see him, but I could feel the Batwing flying right above the building since I was in the level below. Barbara was right next to Tim, as the two didn't want to be anywhere except in the same room as each other. I couldn't blame them, the two were worried sick for the other. 

The anesthesia was going to be wearing off me soon, so I know it'd be only another hour until I would feel the pain in my leg. They removed the bullet and wrapped me up in bandages quickly. I knew what I had to do, so I stood up and ran as fast as I could up the stairs, finding Bruce talking to Cash right before he took the elevator down. 

"What are you doing up here? You should be down in the medical ward." He said.

"I know. But I also know what you're about to do, Bruce. They don't just know who you are, they know who I am too. Those news reporters recognized me in an instant and already had a name. There's no point for me to be out there, my name is going to be on every hit list there is. I know this is the end, and I'm not just going to watch." He nodded. 

Alfred popped up on the communicator. "Sir, it's... It's over. The whole world knows. What now?" Bruce glanced at me and I nodded. 

"Prepare the Knightfall protocol." 

"Are you sure?" 

"There's no other way, Alfred." 

"It needs voice confirmation." 

"Martha." 

"Very good, Master Bruce. You can be sure your instructions will be followed. The Batwing is on its way to the rendezvous point." Alfred told him, and I swear I could hear the sadness in his voice. We all knew what the Knightfall Protocol did. We just didn't know we'd have to see it this early. 

"Go say goodbye to everyone, Y/N. You know what happens here. Meet me up here in 20 minutes or you don't come." He said. 

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Bruce. Tell Dick I said goodbye, and that I love him. As a brother, of course, he better not be getting any ideas." I tried to joke, but I know he could see the tears welling up. He smiled and took off. 

I walked down to the medical ward and I hugged Tim and Barbara. "What's this all about, Y/N?" Barbara laughed. "We did it, there's no more worrying." 

"Bruce issued the Knightfall protocol. I'm going with him." The smiles on their faces were gone in a second.

"Why are you going? You don't need to do this." She said. 

"I know. But the news saw who I was. There's no doubt I'm already on every assassin's hit list. I probably have a price on my head already. There's no point." 

"What about Jason? Didn't you see him?" 

"No, but I know where to find him. I'll make sure to say my goodbyes to him too." I said, and I hugged them both again. "I love you guys so much. And if you two get married within the next two years, tell Dick he owes me five bucks." The two of them laughed.

~

All it took was going down to the Killinger's store to find Jason. He was sitting on one of the escalators and looking down at something. "What are you doing here?" He asked. I sat next to him on the step. 

"Well, let's just say this might be the last time I'm in Gotham for a while." He turned his head instantly. 

"Not that I'm sad to hear you get out of this corrupt and ruined city, but why are you leaving?" 

"Well, everyone knows who I am along with Bruce. He's activated the Knightfall protocol." 

"And you're going with him?" 

"Yeah." 

He looked down at whatever he was holding. "What is that?" It looked like some piece of paper. 

"It's my birthday present." He said and opened the paper up. In it read:

I know you didn't want anything special for your birthday, fight me. I couldn't help it! Happy (belated) birthday, Jason! - (Your Name) <3

I smiled when I read it, noticing the flaws in my handwriting. It's definitely improved. "Where'd you find this? I thought it was gone years ago." 

"I may have gotten into the Batcave while everyone was gone once and I found this by my old suit. I didn't want to lose it since it was all I had from you." 

I couldn't stop smiling and I kissed his cheek. "I promise I'll be back one day. Maybe then we can actually catch up. When you aren't ordering an army around, Scarecrow's trying to poison the city, and Deathstroke is running loose with the rest of your army." 

"He seriously took the rest of that army and couldn't take the old man down?" 

"He's Batman, you really thought you'd be able to take him down with a billion dollar army?" I joked. He laughed. 

"I can't believe I went years without getting to talk to my best friend." He brought me into a hug and I hugged back. 

"See this is why you organized a huge army and took over the city, it's because you know you wouldn't be able to come see your best friend after all these years with no word without a serious beating for it." 

"I would've gotten a beating from you for that?" 

"What do you think, Jason Peter Todd?" I laughed and he grinned. "I should get going now, I have to meet Bruce in 5 minutes." 

"Wait, before you go, there's something I have to do." 

"And what would that be-" I was cut off by his lips. 

I kissed him back and it was the most amazing feeling ever. When he pulled away, it just made it harder to have to stand up and leave. I hugged him once more and stood up. 

"You better tell me when you come back, L/N." 

"And why would I do that, Todd? You didn't tell me when you came back." 

"Well fine, you can get revenge by trying to kidnap me." 

"Trying? I could do it way easier than you did it for me." I grinned and left the room.

~

When I reached the top of the roof, Bruce was just arriving. We walked up to the bat signal with no words spoken and he took off his cowl. He walked over to the edge of the platform and I followed him. The city looked gorgeous, lit up while it was raining. I'd miss it. "It's done. Gotham is safe." 

"Thank you, Bruce. For everything." Gordon said through the earpiece. 

"Goodbye, Jim." 

The Batwing appeared and Bruce wrapped an arm around my waist as he grappled us up into it. It flew off into the sky, and we raced to Wayne Manor. I heard Gordon say before we were out of range, "All units be advised. The major threats have been eliminated. It's time to roll out and take our city back."

~

The Batwing flew down into the yard of Wayne Manor. "Aren't we being a little over-the-top now, Bruce?" 

"Not at all." We both got out of the Batwing, where we heard dozens of cameramen and reporters right outside the gate. A helicopter's spotlight shined on us as we walked to the front door. The steps up to it never seemed so big as they did then. 

Alfred opened the door and looked up at Bruce. "Are you sure you want to do this, Master Bruce?" 

"I've got to. It's the only way to protect them." Bruce walked further into the manor. 

"And what about you, Miss Y/N?" 

"Without a doubt." I smiled at him before following Bruce. 

"Very well." Alfred shut the door. 

The explosions were loud and huge, even after walking far away from where they were supposed to be. I could feel the heat of them everywhere, and Alfred led us away. The yells and cries of all the reporters were loud as the explosions detonated. The last thing I saw before we were gone was outside the window. 

It was dawn.


End file.
